


Wanderers

by RedLlamas



Series: On the Road [2]
Category: The Rover (2014)
Genre: Bonding, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Minor Character Death, Post-Canon Fix-It, Rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23388868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLlamas/pseuds/RedLlamas
Summary: Rey doesn't die. His brother does, still, in the end.
Relationships: Eric & Reynolds
Series: On the Road [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764655
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Wanderers

Henry had also missed his shot, nicking Rey’s neck. Rey reached up to his neck, and when he pulled his hand back, it was covered in blood. He started shaking.

Henry got up and charged at him, knocking him over onto the floor. He fisted his hands in Rey’s shirt, pulling and slamming him back on the floor.

Eric’s skin crawled at the sound, and shot the two he had on the couch. He sped over to Rey, and pulled Henry off of him, wrestling with him on the floor. Henry tried to get away, but Eric held on to him, wrapping his arm around his neck, legs locking over his hips. Henry’s arms flailed about, trying to get any leverage on Eric, but Eric tightened his hold.

Soon Henry’s arms began listing, and he stopped soon after. He went limp in Eric’s hold, and when he did, Eric reached up to cover his mouth and nose. Henry’s body jumped, but he held on fast.

Henry suffocated, and when he died, Eric let him go, rolling him over to the side. He sat up, catching his breath. Rey was holding his neck, sitting against the wall in a stupor. He was looking at Henry’s corpse. Eric looked, too.

They stayed still for a moment.

Rey’s neck was cleaned and bandaged. Eric had pulled the three bodies outside, and propped them onto the tree. Rey watched as he lit them up, and they stood some feet away and watched as the bodies became ash.

When Eric headed towards his car, Rey hesitated. He rubbed his arms, looking around him. The tree. The house. The car.

Eric sat in his car. He closed his eyes.

He heard the soil crunch, and then his door opened. Rey sat, then closed his door.

Eric opened his eyes. The road ahead of him.

Rey looked over at him. Eric felt his eyes rove over his profile.

He put the car in ignition and began driving.

Rey helped him bury his dog. The soil was unrelenting, filled with rocks and rubble. They took turns digging the hole. The sun was beginning to dip.

Eric laid his dog down gently. Rey covered him with the soil. By the time he finished, he was totally broken out in sweat. He wiped at his forehead with his arm, then remembered his shirt and pulled it up to wipe his face off. He stood next to Eric and crossed his hands in front of him.

Eric closed his eyes, bowed his head. Rey followed his lead.

The land was completely dark. They could only see up to the edge of the headlights.

Rey moved around, trying to settle down comfortably. He looked at Eric, and saw him the same as before: strong, resilient, determined.

Rey looked back at the nonexistent road. White marker after white marker.

“What was his name?”

Eric glanced over at him, hand loosening its grip on the steering wheel.

“Your dog. What was his name?”

The car rumbled, the road sped by. Wind howled them, but everything seemed still.

“Rover.”

Rey looked back at the road.


End file.
